Nvidia launches GeForce Now macOS beta

Nvidia has officially launched a macOS beta for its GeForce Now cloud gaming platform in Europe, allowing users of macOS 10.10 or newer to play previously Windows-exclusive titles on a Pascal-based dedicated graphics processor.

Based on the GeForce Grid platform announced back in November 2014, GeForce Now allows gamers on low-end platforms to play high-end games by pushing all the heavy lifting work onto remote data centres filled with dedicated GeForce graphics processors. As the client device only needs to process the audio-video stream and send back control commands, system requirements are light, but, as with any cloud gaming platform, the experience is heavily dependent on a low-latency internet connection with adequate bandwidth.

Another feature of cloud gaming is the possibility to unlock platform-exclusive titles, and that's something Nvidia is pushing heavily as it launches the European beta for GeForce Now on Apple's macOS platform. 'The [macOS] systems aren’t powerful enough [for gaming],' Nvidia explains of the reason why macOS users should be interested in GeForce Now, 'and when they are, most top [Windows] PC games aren’t available.'

The macOS version of GeForce Cloud allows more than 100 games, listed in full here, to be installed on a virtual machine connected to a dedicated Pascal-based graphics processor claimed to be equivalent in performance to a GeForce GTX 1080 graphics card. The games themselves aren't free, however; users must already own the title before it's available to install.

The GeForce Now macOS beta requires an Apple device running macOS 10.10 or newer, with 'most Macs dating back to 2009' fully supported, along with an internet connection with at least 25Mb/s and preferably 50Mb/s of downstream bandwidth. Interested parties with compatible systems can sign up for the free beta now.